Natalie Dean and Oasis Van De Bucxtale are presented as winners of the $62,500 Hermés 1.50m Jumper Classic. Photo © Sportfot.
Press release from Wellington International
A large field of 52 horse-and-rider combinations contested Oscar Soberon’s (USA) final international track of WEF 10, but Natalie Dean (USA) bested the rest. An international field of riders brought their A-games in the $62,500 Hermés 1.50m Jumper Classic as 21 pairs advanced to the short course. The lead changed hands as the riders put the pedal to the metal and the time to beat got tighter. Late in the starting order, Dean had a prime position and soared into the lead with a time of 39.73 seconds.
The U.S. national anthem rang out as Dean led off the well-rounded victory gallop with Marigold Sporthorses, LLC’s ten-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare Oasis Van De Bucxtale (Quinn vd Heffinck x Skippy II). She has been forming a partnership with the mare for the better part of the year, but the victory is the first big win for them as a team.
“I got her at the beginning of last year and we’ve been building her up,” explained Dean, who trains with world no. 2 Ben Maher (GBR). “She’s very careful and brave, and for a small horse she has a huge stride which covers a lot of ground. In this jump-off that suited her because there was a lot of galloping and not a lot of turning.”
Natalie Dean and Oasis Van De Bucxtale, winners of the $62,500 Hermés 1.50m Jumper Classic. Photo © Sportfot.
For Dean, who landed the pinnacle position in the large field of jump-off contenders, the winning secret was leaving it all on the field.
“To be honest, this kind of jump-off is almost easier because you just have to go as fast as you can,” she said. “I got the luck of the draw to go last and I did get to see what everyone was doing, but really the only thing to do in a field that big is to go full out.
“I think this series is really great for developing young or less experienced horses,” she added. “Generally in these jump-offs there are quite a few clear, so you can really test them and train them to go fast.”
Fractions of a second off the leading time, Belgium’s Nicola Philippaerts laid down a fault-free effort in 39.98 seconds partnered with Team Philippaert’s nine-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare, Pandora Van De Kruishoeve (Cidane x Elvis ter Putte). Tom Wachman (IRL) rounded out the winner’s circle in a time of 40.81 seconds on Coolmore Showjumping’s 15-year-old Italian Sport Horse gelding, Lazzaro Delle Schiave (Acodetto 2 x Gluecksgriff).
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